Mine roof supports

ABSTRACT

Advancing means of a self-advancing mine roof support, or a part of the support which is moved thereby, is connected to or carries a section of rail adapted when advanced to register or line-up with a similar and separate section of rail connected to or carried by the advancing means, or a part moved thereby, of a neighbouring or adjacent support. The section of rail may be provided with means for temporarily connecting it to a neighbouring or adjacent section of rail. The sections of rail may serve as a means for connecting one support to a neighbouring or adjacent support so that one support will provide an effective abutment or anchorage for the advance of the other or a part thereof. The section of rail may include or be in the form of a spill plate or baffle. The spill plates or baffles, which are moved forwardly individually by the advancing means of their supports, then form a continuous barrier or wall in front of the supports and serve to prevent mineral spilling into the supports.

United States Patent 1191 Allen 11 1 3,812,681 1451 May 28,1974

8/1965 Great Britain 61/45 D [5 1 MINE ROOF SUPPORTS 1,000,732 Inventor:Archelaius Dawson Allen, Preston 183,164 11/1966 U.S.S.R 61/45 D Englandr Primary ExammerDenn1s L. Taylor Asslgnee: Gulhck Pobson LlmltedvAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Berman, Bishoff & Platt Lancashn'e, England[21] Appl' 270617 Advancing means of a self-advancing mine roof sup-'port, or a part of the support which is moved thereby, [30] ForeignApplication Priority Data is connected to or carries a section of railadapted July 16, 1971 Great Britain 33424 71 when advanced register or-"P with a Similar and separate section of rail connected to or carriedby [52 us. (:1 61/45 D the advancing means, O a P moved thereby, of a 51Int. (:1 E2ld 15/44 neighbouring 9r j pp The'sectiml of rail [58] Field61 Search 61/45 D; 299/31, 33; may be Provided with means fortemporarily connect- 5 91/170 p ing it to a neighbouring or adjacentsection of rail. The sections of rail may serve as a means for'connecting 5 References Cited one support to a neighbouring or adjacentsupport so UNn-ED STATES PATENTS that one support will provide aneffective abutment or anchorage for the advance of the other or a partff t 3 thereof. The section of rail may include or be in the M970 61/45D form of a spill plate or baffle. The spill plates or baf- 3:53455910/1970. Seddon et 81 61/45 D fles, which are moved forwardlyindividually by the 3,5361433 10 1970 Grebe 61/45 1) x advancing meansof their Supports/Then form a 3,603,098 9/1971 Groetschel 61/45 Dtinuous barrier or l in nt of the supports and FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS serve to prevent mineral spilling into the supports.892,179 3/1962 Great Britain 61/45 D 5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures QQQOQQQQ900 9.0.00.0000 0000000 i X +++T+++++++++++ PATENTEDIAY28 m4 1812.681SHEET 3 OF 8 ---FIG. 3--

memenme lw sis-12.581

SHEET'B [1F 8 MINE ROOF SUPPORTS This invention is for improvements inor relating to self-advancing mineroof supports. The invention is moreparticularly, but not exclusively, concerned with mine roof supportsof-the kind'(hereinafter referred to as the kind specified) comprisingat least two units which are advanced. in turn by apressure-fluidoperated device (e.g., a hydraulic ram), one unit servingwhen secured between floorand roof as an abutmentor anchorage'forsaidpressure-fluid-operated device when it is advancing the other unit.

Self-advancing roof supports are used=extensively in mining wheremineralis being'extracted by the longwall or shortwallmethod.

According to the present invention there'is provided a self-advancingmine roof support in which the advancing means or a part of the supportmoved thereby is connected to or carries a section of rail adapted whenadvanced to register. or line-up with a similar and separate section ofrail connected to or carried by the advancing means, or a partmoved-thereby, ofa neighboring or adjacent support. Said sections ofrail may serve as a means for connecting one support to a neighboring oradjacent support so that one support will provide an effective abutmentor anchorage for the-advance'of thev other. Conveniently, the sectionofrail is provided with means for temporarily connecting-it to aneighboringor adjacent section of rail.

According to a further feature of the invention there is provided a mineroof support of the kind specified wherein at least one-of the units'isprovided with connecting means whereby'it'can be connected to a unit ofa neighbouringor adjacent support or supports so that it will serveeffectively as an abutment or anchorage for the advancing means ofthesupport. Such a facility is of great advantage-where roof and/orfloor conditions are bad and said'unit cannot be effectively securedbetween floor and roof so'asto form 'a-satisfactory abutment oranchorage for the advance of its associated unit of the support.

Conveniently, said section of rail or said connecting means includes, oris in the form of, a spill plate or baffle at the front of thesupport orthe unitof the support which is advanced first man advancing sequence.

One particular embodiment of the'in-v'ention will now be described byway of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a support with the units of the support inthe position they occupy after a web of material has been cut from themineral face,

FIG. 2 shows the support withits units in the position they occupy readyfor a further web of material to be cut from the mineral face,

FIG. 3 isplan view of a pair of neighboring supports of the constructionshown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view showing a series of the supports atthe mineral face. the units of the supports being in the position theyoccupy during the passage of a mineral cuttingmachine in front of themalong the mineral face.

FIG. 5 is an end view of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a further diagrammatic plan view, the units of the supports onthe left-hand side beingv in the position they occupy immediately afterthey have been passed by the mineral mining machine,

FIG. 7 is an end view of FIG. 6,

onit four hydraulically extensible telescopic props or legs 13 whichsupport on their upper ends, in the usual way, a roof-engaging canopy14. The base 12, of the rear unit, also hasmounted on it, inside-by-side relationship, two hydraulically extensible telescopic props15 and 16 which support respectively cantilever roofengaging members 17and 18. The cantilever members 17 and 18 are pivotally connected to thecanopy 14 at I 19 and 20 respectively.

The forward unit 11 of the support comprises a base 21 on which ismounted a single hydraulically extensible telescopic prop 22 havingmounted on its upper part a roof-engaging member 23 which issubstantially shorter than the roof-engaging members 17 and 18 in thedirection of advance. The roof-engaging member :23 is movablelongitudinally of and is guided between the roof-engaging members 17 and'18 of the rear unit. During such movement the roof-engaging member23,of the forward unit, is also guided by wirerope guides 24 having theirends securedto the cantilever members 17 and 18m 25 and 25a and passingthrough vertically elongated slots in brackets or lugs 26 and 27 (seeFIG. 2) on the roof-engaging member 23. Thisprevents the roof-engagingmember 23rotating about the axis of the 1 prop 22 andengaging under orover the bars 17 and 18 and, therefore, simultaneously preventingroofengagement of all three roof-engaging members. Similarly, when therear unit is beingadvanced it is guided by the rope guides 24 movingthrough the slots in the guide lugs 26 and 27.

The wire rope guides 24 serve the purpose described and at the same timepermit any necessary movement of the units due to floor or roofirregularities.

Relative movement between the rearward and forward units 10 and 11, toadvance the support as hereinafter described, is effected by upper andlower. double acting hydraulic rams 28 and 29. The ram 28 has itscylinder secured by trunnions 30 in the roof-engaging member 23 of theforward unit and its piston connected at 31 to the canopy 14 of the rearunit. The cylinder of the lower ram 29 is secured inthe base 12 bytrunnions (not shown) and its piston is connected to the base 21 of theforward unit 11 at 32.

For the purpose of the present invention a connecting means 33, whichincludes a spill plate or baffle 34 for preventing mineral spilling intothe support is connected, by slot and'pin means 34a, to the front of thebase 21 of the forward unit..The slot and pin means 34a allow for somevertical movement or adjustment of the spill plate.

Referring now to FIGS. 4m 8 of the drawings, FIG. 4 shows the conditionin which the forward units 11 have been advanced relatively to the rearunits 10 and the roof support system is ready for the machine M toremove a web of mineral from the face F.

As the machine passes the supports their rear units are advanced, byretracting the rams 28 and 29, so that the cantilever roof-engagingmembers 17 and l8pro- 'vide immediate support under the newly exposedroof secured between floor and roof, serve as anchorages for the rams 28and 29 so that they can advance the rear units which have temporarilybeen released from between floor and roof. If roof and/or floorconditions are bad there is a possibility of a forward unit beingdislodged during this advance of its associated rear unit. To guardagainst this, such a forward unit may be connected, by its connectingdevice 33, to the corresponding connecting devices of the. forward unitsof supports on either side of it as indicated at 33a. For example, theends of the spill plate may have lugs provided with holes which registerto receive bolts for connecting two spill plates together.

As the machine flit's back from the tail gate the front units of thesupports are advanced behind it, as shown in FlG.-9, by extending therams 28 and 29 so that when the machine arrives back at the, main gatethe roof support system is in the condition shown in FIGS. 4 and readyfor the machine to cut a further'web of material from the face.= g a Itwill be noted that the spill plates or baffles 34, which are movedforward individually by their-supports, form a continuous barrier orwall or walls in front of the supports and will prevent-mineralspillinginto the supports. I P

The further embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 9 is similar insome respects to that already described and where applicable likereference figures have been used to designate like parts. in thisembodimerit, however, the supports are single unit-supports whichoperate in pairs and have been designated A1 and B1, A2 and B2 etc.Eachsupport comprises a base 35 and four hydraulic props 36 mounted onsaid base and which-support a roof-engaging structure or canopy on theirupper'parts in the usual way. The extensible members 37 of the advancingrams 38, of each pair of supports, are connected to a section of rail 39which may carry'or be in the form of a spill plate. Means are providedat 40'for temporarily connecting'neighbouring sections of rail together.1

The operating sequence maybe as follows:

The ramsof the pair of supports Al,Bl are extended so as toadvance'their section of rail from the position shown in full lines tothe position shown in chain lines. That section of rail is thenconnected by the means 40 to the section of rail of a neighbouringpreviously advanced pair of supports, not shown, to the right of thepair of supports ALBl. The props-of the support B1 are then lowered andits'ram is retracted so that it is advanced, following which it isre-set' between floor and roof. The props of the support A1 are thenlowered and its ram is retracted so that it also is advanced and thenreset between floor and roof. The connecting means 40 will not beremoved until it is again necessary to advance the section of rail.

The pairs 'of supports A2,B2 etc. are similarly advanced. v

It will be understood thatthe connected rail sections, in combinationwith supports secured between floor and root, provide an anchorage forthe advance of the supports by their advancing rams.

I claim: l. A self-advancing mine roof support system com prising aseries of hydraulically extensible selfadvancing roof supports eachhaving hydraulic ram means, operative to advance it inturn in relationto other supports of the system, and a section of an upstandingretaining wall at its forward part, to keep mined mineral clear of thesupport system and confine it to an area being worked, connected to orcarried by the advancing means of the support or by a part of thesupport which is advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting meansconnecting said upstanding retaining wall sections together so that eachsection can be disconnected fromits neighbour for its advance andsubsequently be connected to the retaining wall section of i aneighbouring previously advanced support whereby said previouslyadvanced support provides an anchorage or abutment for the advance ofthe next support, or part thereof, in the series.

2. A mine roof support system comprising a series of pairs ofindependently operable hydraulically extensible self-advancing roofsupports, each pair having hydraulic ram means for advancing first oneand then the other of the pair, each support of a pair serving in turnwhen secured between floor and roof, as an abutment or anchorage-for theadvanceof the other, an'upstanding retaining wall positioned in front ofthe series of supports to keep mined mineral clear. of the supportsystem and confine it to an area being worked, said retaining wall beingin separate sections, there being one such section connected with thehydraulic ram means of each pair of supports so as to be .advancedthereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting said upstandingretaining wall sections together so that each section can bedisconnected for its advance and subsequently reconnected to aneighboring wall section and thereby to the neighbouring pair ofsupports having said neighboring wall sections, whereby an anchorage isprovided, for the advance of at least one support of each pair, whichcomprises the other of the pair and also-a neighbouring pair ofsupports.

3. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim 2 ing retaining wallsection, of said pair of supports, and

extended simultaneously for the. advance thereof, ahead'of the supports,and attached to the roof supports and retracted successively for theadvance of the supports of the pair in turn.

5. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim I wherein theupstanding retaining wallsections are con nected to the advancing meansof the supports or to parts of the supports which are advanced thereby,by I a pin and vertically elongated slot arrangement which allows forsome vertical movement of said retaining wall sections.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,812,681 Dated May 28, 1974 Inventor) ARCHELAIUS DAWSON ALLEN It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that saidLetters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Claim 4, line 1, which is column 4, line 48,

delete "Claim 3" and insert therefor -Claim 2--.

- Signed and sealed this 1st day of October. 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. 0. MARSHALL. DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents USCOMM-DC sank-Poo U... .WIIIIIIT PIIITII O'HCI I". 0-1004 ORMPC4050 (10-69)

1. A self-advancing mine roof support system comprising a series ofhydraulically extensible self-advancing roof supports each havinghydraulic ram means, operative to advance it in turn in relation toother supports of the system, and a section of aN upstanding retainingwall at its forward part, to keep mined mineral clear of the supportsystem and confine it to an area being worked, connected to or carriedby the advancing means of the support or by a part of the support whichis advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting saidupstanding retaining wall sections together so that each section can bedisconnected from its neighbour for its advance and subsequently beconnected to the retaining wall section of a neighbouring previouslyadvanced support whereby said previously advanced support provides ananchorage or abutment for the advance of the next support, or partthereof, in the series.
 2. A mine roof support system comprising aseries of pairs of independently operable hydraulically extensibleself-advancing roof supports, each pair having hydraulic ram means foradvancing first one and then the other of the pair, each support of apair serving in turn when secured between floor and roof, as an abutmentor anchorage for the advance of the other, an upstanding retaining wallpositioned in front of the series of supports to keep mined mineralclear of the support system and confine it to an area being worked, saidretaining wall being in separate sections, there being one such sectionconnected with the hydraulic ram means of each pair of supports so as tobe advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting saidupstanding retaining wall sections together so that each section can bedisconnected for its advance and subsequently reconnected to aneighboring wall section and thereby to the neighbouring pair ofsupports having said neighboring wall sections, whereby an anchorage isprovided, for the advance of at least one support of each pair, whichcomprises the other of the pair and also a neighbouring pair ofsupports.
 3. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim 2 whereineach pair of roof supports comprises a rear support and a forwardsupport connected together by the hydraulic ram means, the upstandingretaining wall section being attached to the front of the first to beadvanced support of the pair.
 4. A mine roof support system as claimedin claim 3 wherein each pair of supports comprises two side-by-sidesupports each having a hydraulic advancing ram, the two advancing ramsbeing attached to the upstanding retaining wall section, of said pair ofsupports, and extended simultaneously for the advance thereof, ahead ofthe supports, and attached to the roof supports and retractedsuccessively for the advance of the supports of the pair in turn.
 5. Amine roof support system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upstandingretaining wall sections are connected to the advancing means of thesupports or to parts of the supports which are advanced thereby, by apin and vertically elongated slot arrangement which allows for somevertical movement of said retaining wall sections.